New build 3-storey end of terrace house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, double-height kitchen-dining area and first floor living room

The house was conceived as an evolution of the 1960s townhouse it adjoins. I bought the original house in a suburb of Oxford 5 years ago; a double plot, it presented the ideal opportunity to design and build my own home by dividing the site into two. Positioned on the north end of the terrace, the new house fitted all the criteria of the City of Oxford's housing policy for developments on residential gardens. Having lived in the original house for a number of years, I wanted to include all the features I enjoyed in the 1960s townhouse while evolving it to create a 21st century home, a flagship for my practice and, of course, comply with current regulations.

I set about the project in the spirit of much admired architect-builders such as Peter Aldington and Charles and Ray Eames, turning budget constraints into the key driver of the design, expressing materials in the raw, such as the fair-faced internal block work and focusing on the space and light with materials and details kept simple and pure.

Sitting discreetly at the end of the existing terrace, the exterior is modest, almost indiscernible from its neighbours, but once inside the reboot becomes apparent with a split level ground floor leading to a double-height living area flooded with light from the tall rear bay. The result is the townhouse reborn; a design-led prototype for affordable housing - the build cost coming in at roughly half the house value.